


Stay

by NaomiLotus



Series: Stay [1]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-13
Updated: 2016-05-31
Packaged: 2018-06-08 05:52:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 8,934
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6841555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NaomiLotus/pseuds/NaomiLotus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"My child... I told you not to come back. Please... leave now."</p><p>"No. I want to stay with you."</p><p>And he did. For several years, the two lived in peace. Until... she fell down. She ruined everything. And he was forced to leave.</p><p>All because he wanted to stay.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. I Want To Stay With You

"I know you want to go home, but... But please... go upstairs now. I promise I will take good care of your here. I know we do not have much, but... We can have a good life here. Why are you making this so difficult? Please, go upstairs." She paused, a tear forming in her eye. "Ha ha... Pathetic, is it not? I cannot save even a single child." She paused again. "No, I understand. You would just be unhappy trapped down here. The Ruins are very small once you get used to them. It would not be right for you to grow up in a place like this. My expectations... My loneliness... My fear... For, my child... I will put them aside."

"If you truly wish to leave the Ruins... I will not stop you," Toriel promised. "However, when you leave... Please do not come back. I hope you understand." 

She turned around and hugged him, as a tear fell down his check.

"Mom, I..."

But it was too late now...

"Goodbye, my child."

...or was it?

Toriel walked around him, took one last glance, and ran away. Frisk moved towards the door, reaching out for the handle. His hands began to shake.

"No..." he muttered. "Mom..." He turned around, and left the room. He walked down the long purple corridor, out the house, through the Ruins, all the way back to the start, where he had fallen on the bed of golden flowers. There, he found her. He found Toriel. He found his Mom.

"My child..." she greeted. "I told you not to come back. Please... leave now."

"No," Frisk refused. "I won't leave you."

Toriel looked down. "You must. It is your destiny."

He shook his head. "No. I want to stay with you."

She giggled. "What? My, my, you are a funny child. Why did you ask to leave in the first place?"

"I... I don't know," he replied, honestly. "I didn't know what else to do. But after that... I understand that this is my home."

Toriel smiled, and brought Frisk into a hug. "Very well, my child. But do know this... you can leave whenever you are ready."

He shook his head. "No. I will never leave you, Mom."

She smiled again, and grabbed his hand gently, leading him back to her house at the end of the Ruins...

~five years later~

"Hee hee hee..." a familiar voice echoed through the garden. "After all these years, you're still here?"

Frisk looked up from watering the flowers, and saw Flowey across the yard. He hadn't seen Flowey since moments after he had fallen down Mount Ebott. In fact, that golden flower had been the first monster he had ever met. And honestly, he didn't like him very much. A few minutes after they had met, Flowey had tried to kill him, tricking him into thinking the bullets were actually 'friendliness pellets' that would make his heart grow strong. If Toriel hadn't saved him... Well, he didn't like to think about it, but... What happens when you die? Toriel had told him that human souls, such as his own, were able to persist after death, but would shatter into a million pieces if not absorbed by a monster. Would Flowey have absorbed his soul? Would he live on inside of Flower? Or would he... move on to a better place...?

"Did'ya miss me?" Flowey asked. "Don't worry, you're ol' friend Flowey is back, and he's here to stay!"

Frisk growled. "What do you want?" he asked, rather impatiently.

The flower giggled. "What do you think?" The human didn't respond. "I need to talk to you about something... something important..."

Frisk stood up. "Look, I don't have time for this. I'm not going to help you with anything. Not after you tried to kill me."

Flowey rolled his eyes. "You'll come to your senses sooner or later. For now, let me leave you with this thought... What will you do if another human falls down?" He went back into the ground.

Frisk sighed, and walked back into the house. "Hey, Mom, I'm back!"

Toriel came out of the kitchen, holding a tray. A delicious aroma made its way to Frisk's nose... "Guess what?" Toriel asked. "Surprise! I have made a butterscotch-cinnamon pie!"

He smiled, and ran up to his Mom, pulling her into a hug. "Thank you!" he praised. "But... what's the occasion?"

Usually, the two would just eat snail pie instead, since butterscotch-cinnamon pie was a lot harder and more expensive to make. They would only every eat it for special occasions, such as birthdays and the first time Frisk met Toriel.

"Don't you remember? From today, it's been five years since you fell down here," she explained.

Frisk nodded. "Oh, yeah, now I remember..."

Honestly, he wasn't sure why they were 'celebrating' that. In fact, they hardly every spoke of that day. It wasn't as if Frisk had asked to fall into a world of monsters. He had just gone hiking, and... tripped? He was quite sure what happened. All he knew what he never meant to wake up on the bed of golden flowers.

Toriel put the pie on the counter. "Why don't you go play in your room for a bit? I'm going to check to see if any other humans have fallen down... Besides, the pie still needs to cool down."

Frisk thought back to what Flowey had just told him. What if a human actually came? Toriel had told him that the other humans to pass through here... well, they weren't as nice as Frisk. They didn't just spare Toriel when they reached the door. Instead, they fought, and... She never told him anything past that point, but he got the idea.

"Wait...!" Toriel stopped, just as she was opening the front door. "I'll go instead."

She frowned. "Frisk, are you-"

"Just get some rest," he insisted. "I'm sure baking that pie would've taken up a lot of energy. You used fire magic, didn't you?" She nodded. "Surely that drained you. I'll be alright, ok? And if a human has fallen, I'll guide them back here."

Toriel looked down as she thought. "Hmm... ok. Ring me if you need anything."

Frisk smiled. "See ya, Mom." He waved goodbye as he opened the door, and began his trek through the Ruins...


	2. The Ninth Human

Frisk strolled through the Ruins, whistling a happy tune as he did so. He passed several Froggits, all of whom he complimented before moving on. Honestly, he wasn't sure why he still did this, seen as all the Froggits knew him and would let him spare instantly, but he felt as if he had too. Maybe it just brought back memories from the first few days he stayed here, when the monsters actually attacked. Once he reached the beginning of the Ruins, he found the one thing he was dreading.

Flowey, talking to a human child.

"You want some LOVE, don't you?" Flowey asked the human.

The human nodded, smiling.

"Don't worry, I'll share some with you!"

Frisk stepped forwards. "Flowey! Stop it!"

"Huh...?" Flowey turned to face him. "Frisk?! What are you doing here?!"

He sighed. "Mom sent me to check for humans. Didn't think there would actually be one, though..." His grip tightened around his broken stick. "Anyways, I would leave now if I were you, unless you want me to use this..."

Flowey rolled his eyes. "We both know you can't hurt me. You've never hurt anything."

"That doesn't mean I won't hurt you now," Frisk argued.

The human frowned. "Uh, what's going on...?" she asked.

"I'll explain later," he promised. "For now, I've got to deal with this weed..."

He advanced, raising up his stick slowly. His hands began to shake... How could he possibly hurt Flowey? That was against his vow to never hurt a living creature... Flowey laughed, and went back into the ground. Sighing, Frisk lowered his weapon, and looked up at the human. He could see her clearly now: she had long, bright red hair, purple eyes, pale skin, and was wearing a red dress. She seemed confused.

"So then, that's over with," Frisk said, relieved.

She blinked. "What was that all about?"

"Oh, Flowey... yeah, he was never gonna give you any LOVE. In fact, gaining any LOVE wouldn't be a good thing at all..." He smiled. "Anyways, you're human, right?" She nodded. "Sweet. Same here." He held out his hand to shake. "I'm Frisk. It's nice to meet you."

She cautiously took his hand, and shook it gently. "Sara. And, uh, same, I guess."

Frisk pulled his hand away, and took a deep breath. "Hmm... we should probably get back to Mo- I mean, Toriel. She's the caretaker of the Ruins, which is this place." He began to exit the room. "Follow me."

Sara took one last look around the room, then ran up besides Frisk. He lead her through the Ruins, all the way back to Toriel's house. He opened the door, and dragged Sara inside and to the living room.

"Hey, Mom!" he greeted. "I found a human!"

Toriel stood up, surprised. "What?!" She rushed up to Sara. "My child... oh, you must be so lost and confused! Are you hurt? Don't worry, I'll heal you."

Frisk laughed. "Don't worry, Mom, she's fine."

The goat took a deep breath, and stood back. "Y-yes, I suppose she is... What is your name, my child?"

"I'm Sara," she replied. "And, uh, I guess you're Toriel?" She moved closer to Frisk, whispering in his ear. "You didn't tell me she was your Mom..."

Toriel giggled. "Ah, yes, Frisk was... adopted into this family, I suppose." She glanced into the kitchen. "Now, why don't we all have a slice of butterscotch-cinnamon pie?"


	3. Can't Hurt Me

After eating a delicious slice of butterscotch-cinnamon pie, Frisk returned to his room. Sara, however, did not. Instead, she went to sit by the fireplace, listening to Toriel read. For a bit, she enjoyed listening to all the snail facts Toriel was telling her, but after a while, she got impatient.

"When can I go home?" she asked.

Toriel looked shocked. "This... this _is_ your home now!"

Sara frowned. "Uh, how do I leave the Ruins?"

Toriel closed her book. "Stay here, I have to do something." She walked out the room, and down the stairs into the basement.

Sara followed her out. She was about to go downstairs behind Toriel, but Frisk spotted her and stopped her.

"Sara, don't go down," he advised. "Trust me, no good will come of it."

Sara groaned. "What? So I'm just supposed to stand around here and _wait_ for the goat lady to come back?"

Frisk nodded. "Yes, actually. I learned that the hard way."

Sara rolled her eyes, and walked down the stairs. Frisk followed her - not because he wanted to protect Sara, but because he wanted to protect his Mom. She had told him what the other human children did, and after Flowey's warning earlier on... He couldn't take any chances. Sara turned around to face him, anger in her eyes.

"What is your _problem_?!" she demanded. Frisk stumbled back, slightly surprised. "I mean, first you 'save' me from the flower dude, and now you won't let me follow the goat lady!"

Frisk sighed. "Listen, I'm doing this for your own good. Flowey would've killed you, and if you go this way and leave the Ruins, Asgore will kill you and take your soul."

"I can fight my own battles, ok?!" Sara shouted, annoyed.

"Fighting is not an option!" Frisk retorted. "You have to show mercy, and sometimes the only way to do that is too avoid conflict!"

Sara laughed. "What do _you_ know about fighting? I bet you've never even been _in_ a proper fight..."

"I've been in more fights that I can count, but I've never hurt anyone," he replied. "Trust me, there is always a way to make peace. And now, the only way to make piece is to follow me back upstairs."

"No." She turned around, and walked down the purple corridor. Frisk followed, although he knew he couldn't stop her. Toriel couldn't stop him, so... Why would he be able to stop her? The most he could do was watch Sara fight Toriel, and if things went wrong he could intervene. If worse came to worse... Well, he would just have to leave the Ruins and warn the other monsters. He could do that, right...? He would just need a way to distract Sara and stop her from leaving...

"Flowey..." he muttered.

A golden flower came out the ground from behind him. "You called?"

Frisk turned around. "Oh, hey. So... I've been thinking about what you said earlier," he told Flowey.

Flowey giggled. "About the human? Well, one came."

"Yeah, I know, but... I'm worried, and I need your help."

Flowey tilted his head. "Why would you ask _me_ for help?"

"Because you are the only monster I know that _can_ help," Frisk explained. "Listen, if... if Sara kills Toriel in the next room... Please... Distract her for me. You don't have to talk to her for long. Just long enough for me to leave the Ruins and walk through the rest of the Underground for a bit. Please?"

Flowey laughed. "Why would I help _you_?"

"Because, if you don't..." He hesitated. "I'll... I'll..."

Flowey rolled his eyes. "You can't do anything to me..."

Frisk's shoulders dropped. "Well, just... think about this. You can't hurt me, and I can't hurt you. This human, however, _could_ hurt both of us. Besides, you're the one who warned me about other humans in the first place."

Flowey groaned. "Fine," he said, defeated. "But this doesn't mean we're friends!" He popped into the ground.


	4. Please Have Mercy

Frisk took a deep breath, and peeked round the corner, finding Sara and Toriel in mid-fight. He bit his lip, thinking of the worse. What if Sara... didn't show mercy...? He wouldn't be able to forgive himself for that - he had failed to stop her from fighting, and if he didn't intervene it would be his fault that his Mom was dead.

"Please, Sara," he muttered. "Don't fight..."

She sliced Toriel's fur with a toy knife. Toriel stumbled back, horrified, then sent a fireball towards Sara. Sara jumped out the way, and hit Toriel again.

"My child, violence is not the answer!" she exclaimed. "Put that toy knife away, and go upstairs now!"

Sara didn't listen, and because Toriel wasted her turn to speak, she hit her again. And again. And again. Toriel couldn't stop her. Eventually, Frisk couldn't bear to watch anymore. He fought he had found a friend, but that friend was going to turn his Mom to dust... No wonder Flowey had warned him about other humans. Not everyone showed mercy. Heck, some people didn't even know there was such thing as mercy. Frisk stepped in between the two, taking Toriel's hit.

"Stop!" he told Sara firmly. "Fighting is not the way to solve this!"

Sara laughed, a hint of red showing in her eye. Then, she spoke, but it was not her own voice. Instead, it was the voice of a demon: the voice of Chara. "You have no idea what's going on, do you?"

Frisk frowned. His ACT button appeared in front of him, and he pressed it.

*You ask Sara what she means.

"You messed with the timeline," she replied. "Choosing to stay with Toriel... That was never an option."

Sara hit Frisk again, making him fall into Toriel's arms. He had only one health point left.

"My child, stop this!" Toriel ordered. "You have taken this a step too far! I don't even know what you talking about, but you must be lying...!"

Sara rolled her eyes, and tugged Frisk out of Toriel's arms, throwing her aside. "You have no clue what's going on, do you...?" She hit Toriel one last time, turning her to dust.

Frisk was finding it hard to concentrate, but he soon realized what had happened. "M-mom..." he stuttered. "I-I'm s-s-sorry..." Sara turned around, and began to walk towards Frisk, grinning in a creep manner. She raised her toy knife, and... darkness. When Frisk woke up, Sara had been thrown to the other side of the room, and Flowey was sitting in front of Frisk. He sat up, his head hurting like hell. "Wh-wha's g-"

"Quick, she won't stay down for long," Flowey interrupted. "Run, warn the rest of the Underground. Even I know this child is bad news."

Frisk inhaled the dusty air around him, and slowly stood up.

"Quick!" Flowey ordered.

Frisk rushed to the door, and entered the rest of the Underground. As he ran away from the Ruins, he could hear Sara's laugh echoing down the hall, getting quieter and quieter as she returned to the rest of the Ruins, in order to gain as much LOVE as possible before she erased the world...


	5. Sans the Skeleton

Frisk ran and ran and ran until he came to a snowy forest. He found a camera hidden in the bushes, but didn't stop to stare at it for too long. Instead, he just kept running. He hopped over a stick, and a few seconds later, it snapped, but he didn't turn to look. He swore he could see a shadow behind him for a split second, but didn't stop to think. Finally, he reached a bridge, and a man approached him. Even though he knew he should have kept on running to warn the monsters, he froze. Maybe this man could help him? It was worth a shot.

"Human," the man said.

Frisk turned around, finding a short skeleton wearing a blue hoodie. "Hey! Nice to meet you, but we don't have much time," he said desperately, grabbing his hand. "Quick, we need to get the monsters someplace safe." He began to run further into the Underground, dragging the skeleton along with him.

"Uh, what are you doing?" the skeleton asked, as a whoopee cushion went off in his hand. 

"Saving your life."

He frowned. "Buddy, I have no clue what your on about. The lady living in the Ruins is amazing, and-"

"The lady living in the Ruins is dead," Frisk stated.

The skeleton stopped, just as they were reaching some sort of sentry station. "What do you mean, she's... dead...?"

Frisk turned around, and saw a small blue tear form in the skeleton's eye. "A human child killed her, just a few minutes ago. And now, the human is going to come and destroy the rest of us. Flowey's buying us some time. We _need_ to get moving, and warn the others."

The skeleton stepped back. "I... I d-don't believe..."

"It's true," Frisk insisted. "So we need to go, uh... what's your name?"

"Sans," he replied. "Sans the Skeleton."

Frisk nodded. "Ok, and I'm Frisk. Frisk the... Human? Anyways, any idea which way to go?"

Sans grabbed Frisk's hand. "Get ready." The two disappeared, and popped into a different place.

Frisk almost fell because of the surprise teleportation. "Woah... How did you do that?" he asked.

Sans smiled. "I'll explain later. For now... Papyrus!"

A taller skeleton can running into view. He was wearing a T-shirt reading 'Cool Dude', along with shorts, a baseball cap and a red scarf. "What's up, brother?" He looked at Frisk. "And... OH MY GOD IS THAT A HUMAN?!"

Sans nodded. "Yeah, and apparently we are in huge danger and stuff. Bad human coming and stuff."

Papyrus frowned. "What...?"

"I'll explain it all later," Frisk promised. "For now, we need to get to someplace safe."

The taller skeleton nodded. "The Great Papyrus is here to help!"


	6. The Demon's Return

Frisk entered a house near the end of Snowdin Town - the house of Sans and Papyrus. The two skeletons had just gone to warn their two friends, Undyne (the leader of the Royal Guard) and Alphys (the Royal Scientist) about the human, so that they could spread the word around their area of the Underground (Waterfall for Undyne and Hotlands for Alphys). Frisk had been told to stay in the house and rest, since he had been running for quite a while and he was freezing cold. He sat down on the green sofa, and waited for the two to return...

Soon enough, they came back.

Sans came down and sat next to Frisk, whilst Papyrus went into the kitchen for something.

"Tell me everything," the skeleton asked.

~.~

Sara laughed as the final Froggit turned to dust. She had no clue how long it had taken, but to her every second was worth it. The look on the monsters faces as they realised their fate... And to think, the monster were trying to _spare_ her after they lost so much HP! Why would she _spare_ something that she was so close to killing? Gaining LOVE was a glorious feeling, so why miss the opportunity of filling her heart with it? 

The human child turned around, finding Flowey in the middle of the path. He smiled. 

"You're not actually human, are you?" he asked. 

Sara stared at him, slightly annoyed. "Why wouldn't I be?" 

Flowey lost his smile. "Well, you _did_ kill all those-" 

"You know I'm just joking around with you," she interrupted. 

There was a moment of silence, then Flowey burst out with laughter. "I get it. You're Chara, aren't you?" 

Sara nodded. 

"I knew it!" Flowey exclaimed. 

"Took you long enough to figure it out." 

Flowey nodded. 

"Yeah, well, it wasn't you at the start, was it? That was the actual human, I can tell that. So... what made you choose her? You could have easily taken possession of Frisk's body instead." 

Sara - no, _Chara_ shrugged. "He was too innocent, I suppose. Sara had already given up her innocence on the surface. Besides, after Frisk choose to _stay_ here, I had no control over him. He messed with the timelines. He was _supposed_ to leave. But, well... now he has. He had to eventually."

"I figured as much," replied the flower. "You can't avoid destiny, just... delay it."

Chara laughed. "Well, now that we both get it, I think it's time we erase this world once and for all..."


	7. Phone Calls

It didn't take too long for Frisk to explain the situation to Sans, since he didn't completely understand what was going on. He just told him that he fell into the Underground five years ago (although, for some reason, Sans didn't seem surprised by this - it was as if he already knew) and stayed with Toriel. Then, another human fell down, and killed Toriel, so he had come out to warn the Underground whilst Flowey was keeping the human busy. By the time he had explained everything, Papyrus had finished in the kitchen.

"I made spaghetti!" he announced, as he entered the room holding a plate of spaghetti.

Sans stood up. "Uh, I'm just going out, to tell everyone what we know about the human who is coming."

Papyrus frowned. "Don't you want some spaghetti?"

"Nah, I'm not hungry. Besides, it just goes _right through me_ ," he replied, before turned to Frisk and whispering, "Good luck," then leaving the house. "See ya!"

Frisk looked at Papyrus. "So... you like spaghetti?"

Papyrus nodded. "I love spaghetti! Undyne taught me how to make it. Would you like to try some?" He offered the plate to Frisk.

He smiled, and took a fork full. He put it in his mouth, and began to chew. It was hard... His face scrunched up. The taste was indescribably. Not wanting to hurt the skeletons feelings, he gave him a thumbs up.

Papyrus blushed. "What an affectionate gesture!" he exclaimed, sounding happy.

Frisk forced a smile. "It's... great... How about you eat the rest?"

"Thanks!" Papyrus began to eat the spaghetti.

~*~

Alphys' hands began to shake as her phone rang. It was Undyne calling... Couldn't she just pretend her phone was on silent? She didn't have to answer, surely... No. She had to answer. After what Sans had told her... She needed to know what Undyne wanted. If it had anything to do with the human... She had to help. Still, she was nervous. Then again, when wasn't she nervous? She had made so many mistakes that she was constantly afraid someone would find out. It didn't help that she had a crush on the very person who was ringing her...

She answered the call. "H-hello?"

"Hey Alphy!" Undyne greeted. "So, did you hear about-"

"Th-the human?" Alphys guessed.

"Yeah, the human! Papyrus came out and told me about it," Undyne explained.

"S-sans came r-round earlier," the scientist replied. "S-so, uh, wh-what a-about it?"

Undyne was silent for a second, before stating, "I just wanted to make sure you were aware of them. I... I don't want you to get hurt. So, if you see them come out the Ruins on your computer thingy, be sure to give me a ring, ok?"

Alphys nodded, then realized Undyne couldn't see her, so she replied with a simple, "O-ok."

"See ya, Alphy!" Undyne hung up.


	8. But Nobody Came

Chara opened the door which separated the Ruins from the rest of the Underground, and entered Snowdin Forest. She had spent quite a long time in the Ruins gaining LOVE to grow stronger, so she figured that Frisk had already managed to warn Snowdin, and perhaps some of Waterfall. Of course, she hadn't considered that other monsters would help him spread the word, so now almost all of the Underground knew. Almost. The word hadn't got to the King yet, which was strange, considering he was the monster who the human would most likely target, so that they could absorb his soul and cross the Barrier. Also, the King was probably the strongest monster in the entire Underground, since he was a Boss Monster and all.

Still, as she began to walk through the dark, snowy forest, Chara hadn't thought that the strongest monsters in the Underground might try to stop her. Why would they? If they had heard that a human had already turned a Boss Monster to dust, why would they think they could stop her? She just smiled at the thought that all those weaker monsters, all those random encounter monsters, would be in her path, not knowing the danger they would face. Too her, they were just free EXP. One hit, and she would grow stronger.

However, when she got her first random encounter, something... unusual happened. Her heart began to flicker and the area grew darker, as usual...

*But nobody came.

~*~

Alphys had just arrived back at her Lab from wandering around Hotlands to deliver the message about the human coming, as the very human she was warning everyone about walked through the door at the end of Snowdin Forest. Over five years ago, she had hidden a camera in the bushes near the door to keep an eye out for humans, and the recording was sent live to her computer monitor. There, through the leaves, she could see a girl with pale skin and purple eyes, wearing a red dress. She had a red ribbon in her long red hair, and was carrying a toy knife.

Panicking, Alphys picked up her cell phone and dialled Undyne's number.

"Hey Alphy!" Undyne greeted.

"Uh, h-hi, Undyne," Alphys replied.

Undyne asked, "So, what is it?"

"Y-you know th-the human you t-t-told me to k-keep an eye o-out for? W-well, they h-have left the Ruins," Alphys explained.

"WHAT?!" Undyne exclaimed. "This is bad! We need to get the Royal Guards over there right now!" She paused. "Uh, I'll handle this. Stay in touch, ok?" She hung up.


	9. Undyne

Undyne rushed out of her house and east through Waterfall, stopped when she met the River Person. After hearing the human had left the Ruins, she decided that it was best to go straight to Snowdin, and find the human before they reached the town. She just hoped that Papyrus and Sans also warned the residents of Snowdin, and that nobody would be in the forest...

"Tra la la," the River Person greeted. "Would you care to-"

"I need to get to Snowdin!" Undyne ordered impatiently. "Now!" She got on the boat.

"Tra la la, something important?" he asked, as he began the ride to Snowdin.

"Yes, incredibly important!"

"Be careful out there," the River Person warned, as the boat slowed down at Snowdin. "Tra la la..."

Undyne jumped off the boat, and ran towards Papyrus' house. A few kids stopped and stared as she rushed past, probably oblivious to the danger that was to come. She opened the door and walked right in, without knocking or anything. She saw Papyrus in the kitchen, and a human sitting on the so-

"Wait, THE HUMANS HERE?!" she exclaimed, summoning a blue spear in her hand. "QUICK, PAPYRUS, GET OUT OF HERE!"

Frisk tensed up. "Huh...? Wha..."

Papyrus came out the kitchen. "Wait, Undyne, no!" he shouted. "It's fine, this human is good!"

Undyne stared at the human. "No human is good! You said a dangerous human was coming! We need to kill them whilst we have the chance!"

"W-wait, n-no! I-I'm not _that_ human! I'm th-the one who w-w-warned the monsters _about_ the human!" Frisk claimed.

Undyne frowned. She lowered her spear slightly, but didn't stop looking at the human. "What are you _talking_ about?!"

Frisk bit his lip in fear. "I, uh, s-saw Sara - the human - k-kill Mo- Toriel. F-Flow-"

"Wait a sec, Toriel? As in, Queen Toriel?" Undyne asked.

Frisk frowned. "I don't-"

She sighed. "You didn't know she was the Queen, did you?"

"B-but... n-no. She never told me," he told her.

Undyne looked down and completely lowered her spear, so it was down by her side. "I understand. But... this human! We need to stop it!" She paused. "Oh, I should probably tell you... It's left the freakin' Ruins! It's somewhere in Snowdin Forest right now!"

Papyrus gasped. "But, if it's already here, that means..."

"Yes, Papyrus, we need to go _now_!"


	10. Spears of Justice

Undyne ran through the forest, speeding through the snow as fast as she could. Frisk and Papyrus followed closely behind, running a lot slower but trying their best to keep up. Before they left the skeleton's house, the two had properly introduced themselves to each other, and they were now perfectly fine being with each other. Even if she did hate all humans, Undyne thought it was best to join forces if this other human child was really that bad.

"Undyne! Wait up!" Frisk pleaded. 

"C'mon, we don't have any time to lose!" Undyne replied.

She stopped suddenly. The other two stopped as well. In the distance, there was a human child standing on the path. She had bright red hair, and was wearing a dusty red dress. She giggled, as she casually strolled forwards towards the group.

"Hey Frisk," she greeted. "These you're new friends?"

Frisk clenched his fists. "Sara... You..."

"What's the matter, Frisk?" Sara asked. "Are you not filled with _determination_?"

"You have no _idea_ who you are messing with," Frisk replied.

Sara laughed. "And neither do _you_."

Undyne growled. "Will you just SHUT UP?!" she exclaimed. "We came here to _fight ___, so lets _FIGHT_!" A blue spear appeared in her hand.

Sara shrugged. "Very well." Her grip around her toy knife tightened. "I'm not just going to give up the chance of gaining some _EXP_..."

The human charged towards Undyne and swiped the knife across her chest. Since she was wearing armour, it only left a dent, but still made her lose some HP. Undyne didn't seem alarmed by the attack; if anything, we just grew more angry. Sara's SOUL turned green, and spears began to fly at her from every direction. She managed to block most them with the 'blade' of the toy knife, but a few still hit her, bringing down her health. Sara hit Undyne again, this time breaking apart the armour.

"Uh, that's a really tough toy knife you got there..." Undyne began to sweat. "But can you block all of _this_?!"

More spears flew towards Sara, so many it would be impossible to block them all. After the final spear, she only had 1HP left.

"W-well then... I, uh, g-guess that's it?" Frisk hoped. "Sh-she's weak now. J-j-just SPARE her." Despite everything that Frisk had seen, he still felt as if sparing was the right thing to so. He couldn't bear to see another person die. "Y-yeah. I'll SPARE you." He spared Sara.

Sara frowned. "You're trying to spare me?" She laughed psychotically. "You really _are_ an idiot, aren't you?" Her eyes began to flicker red, and she through her knife towards Undyne...


	11. Determination

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the cliffhanger at the end of the last chapter. Where was I... Oh yeah! Chara threw her knife at Undyne!

Undyne fell to her knees as the knife sliced through her armour, hitting her SOUL. She began to breathe heavily as Sara just laughed. The pain to her was unbearable - it felt as if her heart was about to shatter into a million pieces - but she didn't want to give up hope. She wouldn't give up hope. She couldn't give up hope...

A tear began forming in Papyrus' eye as he watched his friend suffer. "Undyne... You're... You're hurt..."

"Hurt?" She shook her head. "It's nothing. Just get out of here. Tell Sans what happened. Tell... Tell him to come here."

"B-but-"

"I'll take care of this! Just go!" Undyne ordered.

Papyrus hesitated, but quickly ran off to find his brother. He knew that Undyne had been lying; it definitely didn't look like it was 'nothing'. No... It looked a whole lot worse.

"Heh... 'It's nothing'..." Undyne looked down, clutching the rip in her armour. "No... s-somehow, at your weakest moment... I'm already... Already..." Her form began to fade, but didn't start turning to dust. Just... faded. Frisk took a step back, afraid that something bad was going to happen to Undyne, something even worse than death. "D... damn it... Papyrus... Alphys... Asgore... Just like that, I... I've failed you." She paused, thinking she was about to turn to dust, thinking that this was the end, but... "No..."

Sara frowned. She rushed forwards to get her knife, but Undyne just slowly stood back up and weakly threw a spear at the human, which Sara easily dodged.

"My body... It feels likes it's splitting apart," the hero stated. "Like any instant... I'll scatter into a million pieces. But..." Her form slowly started to fade back in. "Deep, deep in my soul. There's a burning feeling I can't describe. A burning feeling that WON'T let me die. I... I just have to stay determined, don't I? I just have to stay determined, and, one day, I, Undyne, will strike you down!" Her form completely returned, but her armour was now mended and looked a lot stronger. She grinned. "You're gonna have to try a little harder than THAT!"

Sans appeared in between Undyne and Sara. "Oh, hey guys. C'mon Undyne, Frisk, let's get out of 'ere." He grabbed their hands, and used a shortcut back to Alphys' lab.

Alphys, who had been watching the encounter on her console the entire time, rushed up to her. "Undyne! Y-you're OK! Th-thank god f-for that..."

Undyne smiled, and knelt down so she was at the scientist height. "It's ok, Alphys, I'm ok. I... I knew I couldn't just give up..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haha! I bet you all thought Undyne was gonna die! Well, you thought wrong! I didn't have the heart to kill off fish lady... Not yet, anyways.


	12. Talk of Timelines

Chara grabbed her toy knife and chucked it at a snowman in frustration. "Ugh!" she groaned. "What the _heck_ just happened?!" Despite the current state she was in, the knife hit the snowman's heart (if snowman's had hearts, that is). "How the _bloody_ HELL did she do that?!" She ran up to the snowman, her blood leaking out her skin and staining the snow, and ripped out the knife. "Why did she have to be so _DETERMINED_?!" She then proceeded to furiously stab the snowman, over and over, taking out all her anger on something that wasn't even alive. "WHY WOULDN'T SHE JUST _STAY_ DEAD?!"

The child threw the knife to the snowy ground, and sank down to sit at the base of the tree. She buried her face in her knees as a single tear fell down her cheek. "Why..."

"There's no point in sitting around a moaning!" a voice called out.

Chara looked up, and saw a single, golden flower in front of her. She immediately forced back the tears. "Flowey... What are _you_ doing here?"

Flowey frowned. "Why the harsh words?" he asked. "I thought we were _friends_."

She immediately picked up the sarcasm in his voice, but still decided to play along with it anyway. "'Course we're friends. I'm just... really, _really_ angry!" She sighed. "Oh, who am I kiddin'? I just _really_ want to know _how_ she did that... that's all... I mean, her HP was at 0!"

"And you're HP was at 1," Flowey recalled. "Listen, isn't it obvious? The weaker are, the _stronger_ you are. When you are weaker, you are more _determined_ to live on. I mean, it's a known fact that monsters are a lot weaker if they don't want to fight, and they tend to stop wanting to fight when they have low health. But, remember, when you are _determined_ -"

"Wait a sec," Chara interrupted. "Do you mean to say Undyne was filled with determination?"

Flowey giggled. "What else could it be?"

She shook her head. "No, that... that _can't_ be it!"

"Well, what do _you_ think it is, then?" he asked.

"I dunno... maybe her soul just refused to die or something?" she guessed.

Flowey rolled his eyes. "That would require _huge_ amount of determination. I reckon she was injected with determination a few years ago, just enough to come back once. To be fair, she does seem close to that squishy yellow dinosaur who calls herself a 'scientist'... I know what she really did... She's been experimenting with determination for years..."

Chara frowned in slight confused. "...determination? She's been conducting experiments on... determination?"

Flowey nodded. "Yeah. That's the whole reason-"

"That's it!" Chara exclaimed. "If I can get into her lab and get enough determination, I might be able to reset! Maybe if I get enough, I can reset right back to-"

"It won't work."

"What do you mean it-"

"You cannot reset that far back," the flower stated. "Besides, I don't know if you can get enough determination to gain control over the timeline. You'd need more than _him_ , and he already as way more than me..."

Chara blinked. "You have determination? And... so does he?"

Flowey nodded. "Of course. That's how I came back. For a while, I had control over the timeline, but my control was gone when he fell down..."

Chara's eyes began to glow red, even brighter than usual. "In that case, there is only one thing to do," she said. "Kill every being with determination, to gain total control over the timeline." She raised her knife up. "Starting with you..."

" ** _Traitor_**."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had so much fun writing about Chara beating up the snowman at the beginning :) don't ask me why...
> 
> Also, I have no clue why I called Alphys a squishy yellow dinosaur... just roll with it XD


	13. The Plan

Sans sat on the floor, leaning against the wall. That was a big jump he just made. Snowdin, all the way to Hotlands. Usually, a simple shortcut wouldn't take up too much energy, but he had teleport there, and then immediately teleported back with two other people. He hardly ever teleported with other people, and when he did it was usually only one person, and never too far away. So, of course, he was tired...

Like usual.

Besides, Sans was just a naturally lazy person.

Papyrus came to join Sans.

"Brother, are you alright?" he asked.

Sans nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine bro. What about you?"

Papyrus sighed. "If anything, I'm just glad that's over... Undyne looked really hurt... I'm glad she's ok..."

"Hey, don't you worry!" Sans said. "We will defeat the human, I'm sure..."

A flower popped up out the ground in the middle of the room. It looked terrified. The others all turned to look at it.

"Flowey!" Frisk exclaimed. "Uh, what are you doing here?"

Flowey took several deep breaths. "It's... Chara..."

Frisk frowned. "Who's... Chara?"

"Oh, right, you don't know," he realised. "Uh, Chara has possessed Sara. Either that, or Sara _is_ Chara. It's all very confusing, I doubt such idiots as yourself would understand."

The was silence for a moment, then Papyrus spoke up. "Wait a sec... I recognise you!" he shouted, with joy. "You're the flower who keeps talking to me! You whisper words of encouragement and predictions to me!"

Flowey rolled his eyes. "Well, duh! Do you see any other talking flowers around here?"

There was another moment of silence, before Alphys spoke. "W-wait... are y-you...?"

Flowey nodded. "Yes, I am that flower you injected with determination. Actually, know that I think about it, that's why I'm here."

The group edged closer to the flower.

"Wh-what d-do you want?" Alphys asked. 

Flowey took a deep breath. "Right, so, Chara wants total control over the timeline, but to do so she needs the most determination. Before Frisk fell, that was me, but right now it's Frisk. So... she wants to kill Frisk, and me, in order to gain total control." Most of the monsters (and Frisk) had no clue what he was talking about, but Sans' eye began to glow blue upon hearing this.

"Wait, so it was _you_ messing with the timeline?" he question Flowey.

Flowey hesitated. "Uh... yeah. But that was, like, five years ago. After Frisk fell down, I lost my powers, and I don't think Frisk even knows he _had_ those powers."

Frisk frowned. "I have... powers?"

The flower nodded. "Yes! I'll tell you more about it later. For now, I just need to talk to you lot. You see, I have a plan. A plan to stop that human. But, to do so, I'll need all your help..." The others stared at the flower, and leaned closer. Flowey smiled. "Ok, so here's the plan..."


	14. SAVE

Frisk left the lab, and went to join Flowey in the middle of the area, next to a yellow star on the ground. Flowey had told everyone his plan to defeat Sara - no, Chara was her name. Frisk had to keep reminding himself that. It wasn't Sara they were going to stop, it was Chara. Sara was a completely different person. It wasn't her fault someone possessed her body. Anyway, part of Flowey's plan was to teach Frisk how to use his powers, which was what he was about to do.

"Ok, you see this yellow thing?" Flowey asked.

Frisk nodded. "You mean the star? Yeah, I can see it."

"Great," Flowey said. "Touch it, and think about everything that makes you want to complete your task. Think about everything that fills you with _determination_."

Although he was unsure of how this was going to help, Frisk touched the star. _Knowing that someday we will beat Chara... _a voice said inside his head. _It fills you with determination._ A box appeared above his head. It said his name and LV1 at the top, along with two buttons at the bottom - SAVE and RETURN. Frisk frowned.__

__"Uh, Flowey? There's a box. It says 'FRISK - LV1 - SAVE - RETURN'."_ _

__The flower grinned. "Excellent. Press SAVE."_ _

__Hesitantly, Frisk pressed SAVE, and the box disappeared. He looked back at Flowey. "What did I do?" he asked._ _

__Flowey smiled. "You just made a SAVE POINT. Now, you should be able to return to this moment at any given time." Frisk looked confused. "It's difficult to explain. I had no clue what I was doing the first time I made a SAVE POINT. In fact, I didn't even know I _did_ make a SAVE POINT." Frisk was still confused, but nodded anyway. "Right, let's just get to the point. I'm going to kill you now."_ _

__"Wait, WHAT?!" Frisk exclaimed. "NO!"_ _

__Flowey rolled his eyes. "You won't DIE you IDIOT! You're SOUL will hang around for a moment, and during that time you just have to stay determined. If it goes right, you should find yourself in front of another box, like the one that let you SAVE. You'll be given two options - CONTINUE and RESET. Press the CONTINUE button. Got it?"_ _

__He didn't get it. Why did the flower have to _kill_ him to do this? What if this was some sort of trick? What if Flowey was lying? Frisk wouldn't put it past him. In the past, Flowey had done nothing but make his life a living hell. When they had first met, he had tricked him with the 'friendliness pellets' (which were actually bullets). Still, he didn't really have a choice, did he? And Flowey _did_ seem sincere with the plan... Reluctantly, Frisk nodded._ _

__"See ya on the side," Flowey said, as a circle of bullets surrounded Frisk. They began to close in, and..._ _

___You cannot give up just yet,_ a voice urged. _Frisk! Stay determined...__ _

__It felt like his soul was about to break. Like his heart was about to shatter into a million pieces. But, deep, deep down, he knew he couldn't give up. He knew he had to go back. He knew he had to stay determined._ _

__Frisk found himself standing in front of the box Flowey had described. He pressed the CONTINUE, and found himself back at the SAVE POINT._ _

__"Well done!" Flowey praised. "You actually did it! Maybe you aren't such an idiot after all..."_ _


	15. Judgement Hall

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, here we go! Time for Flowey's plan! And the final battle! Happy fun times...

Chara stepped into the corridor, her footsteps echoing through the building. It had been a few hours now, and she was know holding a real knife. Dust seemed to float around her, the same kind of dust that her hands were coated with. So many innocents had lost their life for this, and she was now at LV19. But she wasn't done yet. All she could do was whisper under her breath... 

**"Five left..."**

Halfway down the hall, she was greeted by a familiar short skeleton. _That Mr Comedian..._ Bells rang out through the building.

"Heya," he greeted. "You've been busy, huh?" He sighed. "So, I've got a question for ya. Do you think that even the worst person can change...?" No response. "That everyone can be a good person, if they just try?" Still no response. "Heh heh heh heh... Well, here's a better question." His eyes disappeared. "Do you wanna have a bad time? 'Cause if you take another step forward... You are REALLY not going to like what happens next." She took a step forward. His eyes came back. "Welp. Sorry, old lady. This is why I never make promises."

The room began to darken, and Sara's red SOUL appeared in front of her. A grin formed across her face. "You really think you can beat me?" she asked. "I mean, come on! You only have 1HP! Just one hit would destroy you!" She laughed. "You'll be even easier than the rest!"

Sans closed his eyes. "It's a beautiful day outside. Birds are singing, flowers are blooming... On days like these, kids like you..." He opened his eyes, revealing his eye engulfed bright blue flame in his left socket. "Should be burning in hell!"

Chara's heart turned blue, and she was thrown to the ground. She jumped up as bones raised from the ground, and then ran for cover as several laser beams were shot at her. _Ok, maybe he's gonna be harder than I thought..._

"Anyways, as for your question before," he began. Chara frowned. "No, I don't think I can beat you." Chara smiled. "But I can safely beat one of my friends will." He stepped aside. Standing behind him, there was a human, a fish lady, a goat man and a flower. Several white 'friendliness pellets' surrounded her, and closed in. She blocked the majority with her knife, but still got hit once or twice. She was then surrounded by flames, so she jumped up as the rushed before her. She didn't get hit my any of them, but then a spear came rushing towards her. Not prepared for this, it hit her, and then spear after spear was thrown. She managed the block the next ones with her knife.

"Sara! Listen, you don't have to do this!" a voice echoed through the hall. "It doesn't have to end this way!"

Chara growled. "Frisk, this _is_ the only way," she mumbled, as she ran towards the group at the end. She slashed her knife left, she slashed her knife right, she jumped up, and slashed her knife down. The King fell to his knees. He turned to dust.

**"Four left..."**

Undyne clenched her fists. "D-did you just..."

Chara laughed. "He's not the only one. Anyone who stands in my way gets it just the same. And I believe a certain Royal Guard is _also_ standing in my way."

She advanced on Undyne, holding up her knife to block several spears. The knife ran through Undyne's armour, and she began to melt. She couldn't come back this time. She only had enough _determination_ to come back once. It was too late to get more. Alphys was already gone. The two had both turned to dust now.

**"Three left..."**

The three remaining enemies formed a circle around Chara. "Let's see... who should I kill first?" Chara wondered. "The Mr Comedian-" She pointed her knife towards Sans. "-the Determined Child-" She pointed her knife towards Frisk. "-or..." She turned around to face Flowey. "...the Traitor." She advanced on Flowey, and stabbed him several times. She ripped apart the first, second, third, fourth, five, sixth petal, then lodged the knife in his face. The flower fell to the ground, dead.

**"Two left..."**

Chara turned to Sans.

Sans just shrugged. "Welp, I knew this was comin' anyway. Frisk, do me proud."

Frisk frowned. "S-Sans? N-no! Y-y-you have t-to fight a-as well!"

"Why? What's the point?" he asked. "She never did anything to me. Sure, she just killed all my friends, but... well, it's all gonna be RESET anyway, right? It's always gonna be RESET."

"Oh, if only you knew," Chara said, with fake pity. "Frisk here doesn't even know _how_ to RESET, and, besides, I don't think he has enough determination to do it. If I am correct, he has just the same amount of determination as me."

Sans frowned. "What? Kid, stop lyin'. We both know Frisk has _way_ more determination, and Paps-"

"I killed him."

"Wh-what?!"

"I killed her, two."

"Wh-what are you _talking_ a-about?"

Chara shrugged. "They were in my way. So, I killed them both. It really wasn't hard. All it took was one, solid hit. And then, when they were gone, I could take some extra determination from the lab."

Sans' eye turned blue. A Gaster Blaster appeared behind him. Chara ran towards him, and slashed her knife towards his chest. He didn't have time to dodge, since all his energy was focused on the blaster. Blood began to pour out his chest. Now, the knife wasn't just covered in dust - it was also dripping with blood.

**"One left..."**

Chara turned towards Frisk, stabbed him in the heart, and everything went black...

**"Determination."**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't you worry, guys! It's not over yet!


	16. RESET

Frisk woke up outside the lab, at his SAVE POINT. He still had the image of Chara murdering his friends in his head... Were they gone? Had Chara died as well? He jumped up, and was about to run all the way back to the Judgement Hall to end it once and for all, but a voice stopped him.

"Hey, idiot, where d'you think you're going?!"

Frisk turned on his heel. He hadn't noticed Flowey there before... Good. That meant he wasn't dead, which maybe meant the others weren't either? Frisk had seen Chara rip Flowey to pieces, so there was no way could have come back... What had happened?

"Good thing you SAVED, right?" Flowey said, with a shudder. "If you hadn't, then... well..."

Frisk approached him. "Don't worry, you're safe now." Now, he realised what had happened - since he SAVED, he just came right back. Strange, though. He didn't remember going to the SAVE screen. "So, um, what now?"

Flowey looked down. "As much as I _hate_ to say this, there is no way we can beat Chara. She's too strong."

Frisk nodded. "Yeah, I figured as much."

"So, we'll just have to set things right," he decided.

Frisk tilted his head. "What do you mean...?"

Flowey hesitated. "Uh, remember the RESET button next to the CONTINUE button?" He nodded. "Ok, you need to press that. It will send you all the way back to when you fell down-" _probably,_ he added in his head, "-so you can start again. This time, you need to leave the Ruins."

Frisk's eyes widened. "Huh? Why? Then I'll have to leave Mom..."

Flowey rolled his eyes. "You really don't have much of a choice. Remember what Chara said, right at the beginning?" After no response, Flowey recalled, "'You messed with the timeline. Choosing to stay with Toriel... That was never an option.' In order to succeed, you _can't_ stay with Toriel."

Frisk looked down. He hesitated, but soon said, "O-ok... b-but if things st-still go wrong, can I RESET a-again and stay with h-her, and p-protect her this time...?"

 _No,_ Flowey thought. _You can't,_ but he replied with, "Sure, whatever. Just go already."

Flowey summoned a few 'friendliness pellets', and killed Frisk, so that he woke up in the SAVE screen. Reluctantly, he pressed RESET, and...

He woke up on a bed of golden flowers. Just like he had done five years ago. He made his way through the Ruins, and finally beat Toriel. She hugged him, and... As he was in her arms, he whispered.

"I'm sorry Mom, b-but... if I stay, you'll only g-get hurt..."

She didn't seem to understand, but didn't ask. She ran away, and Frisk left for good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is the end now.
> 
> I might actually make a sequel to this, where they are on the surface and Sara comes back, because I'm evil and enjoy making characters suffer :) so, if you enjoyed this and would like to read another, tell me in the comments :)
> 
> On another note, what did you think of the story? Did you enjoy it?
> 
> See ya!
> 
> EDIT: I made the sequel! Here is the link: http://archiveofourown.org/works/7299283/chapters/16577998


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